Ringing the wagons around the Gathering
by John Curnow on 6 Apr 2017
Participants at the 2017 WWSA Gathering Event Media
It certainly is great to be able to close the loop as it were, and report back on events that we have covered here. Managed to catch up in person with Shelley Wright, the Founder of the Women Who Sail Australia group. They had just completed their second ‘Gathering', and she commented, “I think one of the things that struck me over the weekend was the diversity of attendees. We had circumnavigators, both as speakers and in the audience, liveaboards, solo sailors, Sydney to Hobart racers, day sailors, and also women just starting out on the water.”
“The youngest was Lauren at 18, and we had several in their 70s, too. All ages and abilities! You could feel the energy in the room - really hard to describe.” They crossed live to Lisa Blair before her dismasting, which Wright indicated was a highlight at the time, but obviously very sad now.
Also evident during conversation was how Wright appreciated the globalised nature of it all, and that they still had members of the group who were from overseas after their forays into the region. All of which pays great homage to the creator of Women Who Sail, Charlotte Kaufman, and her vision. Equally, this ties in very nicely with the Bluewater Cruising Association's Women On Water seminar, which is just days away – April 8 to be precise.
Wright also added, 'I guess what WWSA, and the Gathering on Bay in particular, highlights is the invisible thread that joins women on boats no matter where they are from. There is a 'connectedness'.'
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